Flower Color

• Blue
• Blue-purple
• Purple

Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)

• Cyme (simple or branched)
• Terminal raceme

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers regular
• Flowers slightly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 2 mm (.08 inch)
• 3 mm (.12 inch)
• 4 mm (.16 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 1 mm (.04 inch)
• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 4 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 2 carpels
• 4 carpels

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Nutlets, 4

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 2 mm (.08 inch)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 1 mm (.04 inch) or less

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Opposite

Leaf Type

• Simple (including lobed leaves)

Stipules

• Lacking

Tendrils

• Tendrils absent

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole absent (leaf sessile)

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
• 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)

Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)

• Lanceolate

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Dentate

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Truncate

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Hirsute
• Scabrous (like sand paper)
• Sparsely hairy

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Annual

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Erect, columnar (narrow)
• Erect, spherical (bushy)

Plant Height at Maturity

• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
• 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
• 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Seasonally saturated
• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Square

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem leaves greatly reduced
• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Tap Root

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Hawaii
• Arizona
• California
• Oklahoma
• Oregon

Other

• Puerto Rico

• Aquatic and Riparian Plants of the West, 2003 (ISBN# 1-879906-59-7) See page: 387
• California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 204
• More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 348
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 362
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 1572
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X